72 June 2015 www.womanthismonth.com LIFESTYLE | travel Viva Italia Once home to the most powerful and fabled empire in history, this country still has a special allure to date. Discover the vitality of the extraordinary landscape of Italy with Ankita Mamgain. In Italy, for 30 years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance,” said Orson Welles, the American actor, director and writer. Italy is a country that truly knows how to live and love and preserve the fine gifts of life; be it the glorious taste of its cuisine or the picturesque views of its terrain. From the charm of its remotest nook to the urban establishments that house fashion’s elite, people here celebrate each day with passion. Here’s a peek into the land of fast cars, sharp suits, beautiful faces, spectacular scenery, great food and sunny smiles. LOMBARDY: MILAN AND THE LAKES One of the most dynamic regions of the country, Lombardy offers everything from world-class ski slopes to luxurious summer lake resorts. The pulse of the region is of course Milan, its commercial, fashionable and forwardlooking capital. Explore the great Renaissance cities of the Po Plain – Pavia, Cremona and Mantua. They will fill you with the typical Italian romance that one expects to encounter, effortlessly embracing their past by preserving national treasures while ever keeping an eye on the present. Perhaps the richest part of the country, Lombardy resembles its neighbouring Switzerland more than the rest of Italy. The top attractions are its glacial lakes. Above them stand the Alps, which have been praised as the closest thing to paradise by writers throughout the ages, from Virgil to Hemingway. The breathtaking beauty of Como, Maggiore, Garda and Orta, the magnificent lakes of Northern Italy, is truly unmatched. Along their shores are 18th- and 19th-century villas, exotic formal gardens, sleepy villages and dozens of Belle Époque–era resorts, once Europe's most fashionable, which still retain a powerful allure. Riva Lake Garda Sirmione Lombardy "
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